Northern CAN Visits Benue IDPs

Benue State Governor, Rev. Fr. Hyacinth Alia, has commended the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in the 19 Northern States for its concern and humanitarian intervention for victims of violent armed herders’ attacks in Benue State.

Governor Alia, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant on Religion and Societies, Rev. Dr. King David Ajav, gave the commendation during the distribution of food items by the regional CAN leadership. He assured that the Alia administration remains committed to working collaboratively with faith-based organisations to deliver quality service to humanity.

Presenting the assorted food items to the victims, largely from Yelwata in Guma Local Government Area and communities in Gwer West, the Chairman of CAN in the 19 Northern States, Rev. Dr. J. J. Hayat, said the intervention was made possible through a partnership between CAN and the Barnabas Fund Foundation.

According to him, the Barnabas Fund extended support to enable CAN assist Christians who are victims of persecution in five states across Nigeria.

Dr. Hayat disclosed that the affected states include Kaduna, Plateau, Borno, and Benue in the North, as well as Ondo State in Southern Nigeria. He explained that the association had earlier visited Kaduna and Ondo, while Benue became the third beneficiary following the brutal attack on Yelwata community.

He said, “On behalf of the Church and the Barnabas Fund, I commiserate with the entire people and Christians in Benue State.” He expressed deep sympathy over the loss of lives and assured the victims of CAN’s continued support.

Explaining the distribution process, Dr. Hayat stated that the Benue State CAN leadership had shortlisted one thousand families to benefit from the gesture, a template which the regional body adopted to ensure that assistance reached targeted households rather than individuals.

He further instructed the distribution committee to ensure that beneficiaries cut across all Christian denominations, in order to promote unity within Christendom.

In a related development, Dr. Hayat thanked God for raising courageous voices from Benue State who have spoken out against the gruesome killings of Christians, noting that their courage attracted global attention to what he described as a painful genocide.

Nine categories of food items were distributed to the beneficiaries, including bags of rice, gari, and maize, as well as sugar, seasoning cubes, salt, palm oil, groundnut oil, and other essentials.

One of the beneficiaries, a person with disability (PWD) from Yelwata, Mr. Abraham Asongo, applauded CAN for the intervention and prayed for God’s continued strength upon the organisation to achieve its objectives. He also urged other well-meaning Nigerians to emulate the gesture.